1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus and a method for forming a color image having a heat-sensitive material which changes in its optical and physical states with a change in temperature.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Output moving images in televisions and VTR and interaction with computers, are generally displayed on display monitors, such as CRT (cathode ray tube) and TN (twisted nematic) liquid crystals. High-definition images, such as documents and figures formed by facsimiles, are output and displayed as hard copies printed out on paper.
Although a CRT outputs beautiful images in the case of output moving images, it causes a deterioration in visibility owing to the scanning lines caused by flickering or insufficient resolution in those images which are still for a long time.
In addition, although conventional liquid crystal displays such as TN liquid crystals or the like permit the formation of thinner devices, they involve the problem that the work of sandwiching a liquid crystal between glass substrates requires much time, and the image formed is dark.
The CRT and TN liquid crystals also have the problem that a beam or picture element voltage must be always accessed because there is no stable image memory even during the output of a still image.
On the contrary, images output on paper are obtained as stable memory images with high definition. However, the use of a large number of such images output on paper requires a substantial space for filing, and a waste of resources is realized by the disposal of many sheets of paper, which cannot be disregarded. In addition, there is the need for handling of ink and a toner, for processing such as development, fixing and the like, for maintenance and the supply of consumables.